Islamic Empires

Chapter 28Islamic Empires I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI.

In 1635 Shah Jahan, the emperor of Mughal India, took his seat on the Peacock Throne Taj Mahal. Built as a tomb for Shah Jahan’s beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died during childbirth in 1631 Mughal realm was not the only well-organized Islamic empire of early modern times Ottoman dynasty ruled powerful empire that expanded from its base in Anatolia to embrace much of eastern Europe, Egypt, and north Africa Safavid dynasty never expanded far beyond Persia All three Islamic empires of early modern times had Turkish ruling dynasties Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals came from nomadic, Turkish-speaking peoples of central Asia who conquered the settled agricultural lands of Anatolia, Persia, and India, respectively During sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries Islamic empires made little investment in economic and technological development By mid-eighteenth century the Safavid empire had collapsed, and Ottoman and Mughal realms were rapidly falling under European influence Formation of Islamic Empires 1. Ottoman Empire a. Ottoman empire was an unusually successful frontier state b. Ottoman derived from Osman Bey, c. founder of the dynasty that continued in unbroken succession from 1289 until the dissolution of the empire in 1923 d. Osman was chief (bey) of a band of seminomadic Turks who migrated to northwestern Anatolia in thirteenth century e. Followers sought to become ghazi, (muslim religious warriors) f. “Ghazi is in the instrument of the religion of Allah, a servant of God who purifies the earth from the filth of polytheism,; the Ghazi is the sword of God, he is the protector and the refuge of the believers” g. If he becomes a martyr in the ways of God, do not believe that he has diedh. Anatolian city of Bursa became capital of Ottoman empire i. Around 1352 they established foothold in Europe

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Ottoman military leaders initially organized ghazi recruits into two forces: a light cavalry and a volunteer infantry k. Added professional cavalry force equipped with heavy armor and financed by land grants l. Through institution known as devshirme, the Ottomans required Christian population of Balkans to contribute young boys to become slaves of sultan m. Those who became soldiers were known as Janissaries, from Turkish yeni cheri (“new troops”). n. Janissaries quickly gained reputation for esprit de corps, loyalty to sultan, and readiness to employ new military technology o. Ottomans outfitted their forces with gunpowder weapons p. Captured Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II (reigned 1451-1481) q. Known as Mehmed the Conqueror r. Constantinople became new Ottoman capital, subsequently known as Istanbul s. Mehmed laid foundations for tightly centralized, absolute monarchy t. Ottomans continued their expansion in early sixteenth century when sultan Selim the Grim (reigned 1512-1520) u. Occupied Syria and Egypt v. Ottoman imperialism climaxed in reign of Suleyman the Magnificent (reigned 15201566) w. Suleyman promoted Ottoman expansion both in southwest Asia and in Europe x. In 1534 he conquered Baghdad and added Tigris and Euphrates valleys to Ottoman domain y. Kept rival Habsburg empire on defensive z. Under Suleyman ottomans became major naval power 1. Safavid Empire a. In 1499 boy named Ismail left swamps and hid from enemies of his families b. Young Shah Ismail (reigned 1501-1524) proclaimed official religion of his realm would be Twelver Shiism c. Shah Ismail and his succesors carefully controlled accounts of their rise to power d. Safavids changed their religious preferences several time in hope of gaining popular

support before settling on form of Shiism that appealed to nomadic Turkish tribes e. Qizilbash (“red heads”) Safavid propaganda also suggested that Ismail was himself the hidden imam, or even an incarnation of Allah f. Qizilbash enthusiastically accepted them g. Qizilbash believed that Ismail would make them invincible in battle, and they became fanatically loyal to Safavid cause h. Sunni Ottomans who detested Shiite Safavids and feared spread of Safavid propaganda among the nomadic Turks in their own territory i. Whe Selim the Grim became sultan, he launched persecution of Shiites in the Ottoman empire and prepared for a full-scale invasion of Safavid territory j. Battle on plain of Chaldiran (1514) critical k. Ottomans badly damaged Safavid state but lacked resources to destroy it completely l. Shah Abbas the Great (reigned 1588-1629) fully revitalized Safavid empire m. His campaigns brought most of northwestern Iran, Caucasus, and Mesopotamia under Safavid rule 1. Mughal empire a. In 1523 Zahir al-Din Muhammad, “the tiger”, a Chagatai Turk who claimed descent from both Chinggis Khan and Tamerlane, suddenly appeared in northern India b. Babur made little pretense to be anything more than an adventurer and soldier of fortune c. With aid of gunpowder weapons, including both artillery and firearms d. Babur mounted invasions in 1523 and 1525 e. Took delhi in 1526 f. Real architect of Mughal empire was babur’s grandoson, Akbar (reigned 1556-1605) g. Akbar took personal control of Mughal government and did not tolerate challenges to his rule h. Created centralized administrative structure with ministries regulating various provinces of empire i. Akbar was also thoughtful, reflective, man deeply interested in religion and philosophy j. Illiterate maybe dyslexia

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k. Extremely intelligent l. Encouraged elaboration of syncretic religion that focused the ruler common to all religions, ethnic, and social groups of India m. Mughal empire reached greatest extent under Aurangzeb (1659-1707) n. Mughal ruled entired subcontinent except for region of southern tip of india by early 18th century Imperial Islamic Society 1. Dynastic State a. Ottoman Safavid and Mughal empires were all military creations, b. Rulers exercised personal command of armies, appointed and dismissed officials at will, and adopted whatever policies they wished c. Autocratic authority wielded by rulers of Islamic empires also reflected steppe traditions d. Kannun means “laws” e. Suleyman-Europeans called him “Suleyman Magnificent” f. Ottomands referred as the Lawgiver Suleyman manuni g. Steppe practices also brought succession problems h. In steppe empires rulers’ relatives often managed components of states, and succession to throne became hot contest between competing members of family i. After fifteenth century, sultans moved to protect their position by eliminating family rivals j. Muslim theorists universally agreed that women should have no role in public affairs k. Women played important roles in managing Islamic empires l. Women played prominent political roles in Safavid Mughal empires 1. Agriculture and trade a. Columbian exchange strongly encouraged consumption of coffee and tobacco especially in ottoman and safavid empires b. By eighteenth century American producers and European merchants supplied Muslim markets with both coffee and sugar c. English merchants introduced tobacco around 1600, claiming it was useful for medicinal purposes

d. Sultan Murad IV went so far as to outlaw coffee and tobacco and to execute those who continue e. American food crops had less demographic effect in Islamic empires than in other parts of the world f. Early capital at bursa was also terminus of caravan route that brought raw silk from Persial to upply Itlian market g. Aleppo became emporium for foreign merchants engaged primarily in spice trade and served as local headquarters for operations of English Levant company h. To curry favor with the, English company sent military advisors to help introduce gunpowder weapons to Safavid armed forces and provided a navy to help them retake Hormuz in Persian Gulf from Portuguese i. Mughals did not pay as much attention to foreign trade s Ottomans and Savadids did, j. Mughals concentrated on their land empire, and had enormous size and productivity 1. Religious affairs in Islamic Empires a. All Islamic empires had populations that were religiously and ethnically diverse b. Ottoman empire included large numbers of Christians and Jews in Balkans, Armenia, Lebanon, and Egypt c. Portuguese Goa became center of Christian mission in India d. Islamic empires relied on long-established model to deal with subjects who were not Muslims e. They extended protection to the (dhimmi) f. In return they pay jizya, (tax), and loyalty g. Millet (religious communities) retained their own civil laws, traditions, and languages h. Mughal rulers reserved most powerful military and administrative positions for Muslims i. Some Mughal emperors sought to forge links between religious communities j. Akbar in particular worked to integrate Muslim and Hindu elites k. Akbar abolished jizya, tolerated all faiths, and sponsored discussions and debates between Muslims, Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, and Christians l. Policies of religious tolerance were not popular with many Muslims m. Aurangzeb reinstated jizya and promoted Islam as official faith of Mughal India

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1. Cultural Patronage of Islamic Emperors a. Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent was fortunate to be able to draw on talents on architectural genius Sinan Pasha (1489-1588) b. Built religious complex called Suleymaniye, which blended Islamic and Byzantine architectural elements combined tall slender minarets with large domed buildings c. Fatehpur Sikri, a city planned and constructed by Akbar that served as his capital from 1569 to 1585 d. Fatehpur Sikri was also a private residence and retreat for the ruler e. Akbar indulged his passions for music and conversation with scholars and poets f. Unfortunately Akbar selected poor site for city and soon abandoned it because of its bad water supply g. Most famous of Mughal monuments, and one of the most prominent of all Islamic edifices, was the Taj Mahal Empires in Transition 1. Islamic empires underwent dramatic change between sixteenth and eighteenth centuries 2. Deterioration of Imperial Leadership a. Eventually, all three dynasties had rulers who were incompetent or more interested in spending vast sums of money on personal pleasures than in tending to affairs of state b. After late seventeenth century, weak rule increasingly provoked mutinies in army, provincial revolts, political corruption, economic oppression, and insecurity throughout Ottoman realm c. Safavids fell under domination of the very Shiites they had supported d. In seventeenth century, conservative Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (1564=1624) e. Fearlessly rebuked Akbar for his policy of religious tolerance and his interest in other faiths f. Aurangzeb drew on Sirhindi’s ideas when he required non-Muslims to pay poll tax g. Measures inflamd tensions between various unni, Shiite, and sufi branches of Islam and also fueled animosity among Hindus and other Mughal subjects who were not Muslims

h. Bylate eighteenth century, Ottoman navy, which had long influenced Maritime Affairs in Mediterranean, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea, was closing its shipbuilding operations and ordering new military vessels from foreign shipyards 1. Cultural Conservatism a. Islamic empires also neglected cultural developments in larger world b. Ottoman geographers also manifested great interest in European knowledge of geography, some of which had considerable military value c. Admiral and cartographer Piri Reis d. Book of seafaring e. Thus like imperial China and Tokugawa Japan, Islamic empires resisted introduction of cultural influences from western European societies f. 1289-1928 1451-1481 1453 1501-1524 1501-1722 1514 1520-1566 1526-1858 1556-1605 1588-1629 1659-1707

Ottoman dynasty Reign of Mehmed the Conqueror Ottoman conquest of Constaninople Reign of Sah Ismail Safavid dynasty Battle of Chaldiran Reign of Suleyman the Magnificent Mughal dynasty Reign of Akbar Reign of Shah Abbas the Great Reign of Aurangzeb